Disclaimer: Joss is god, Joss owns all.
This takes place in some alternate continuity during the seventh season. Willow's back in Sunnydale and the potentials have been introduced, but the First isn't an issue in the story. Also, I can't stand Kennedy, but in order for this to work, Kennedy, while not the central character, she does appear regularly. Again, I stress that this is in every way a W/T story.
It was a sunny morning in Southern California. Willow Rosenberg had been back from England for a couple of months now, and the Summers residence had since been infested by potential Slayers, who had been driving the Scoobies up the wall.
Willow was almost certain that the young women didn't mean to annoy them, but she still wasn't particularly fond of them.
She was currently sitting in her room on her bed. The bed that she had been privileged enough to share with Tara. Willow knew that she was supposed to be in the process of getting over Tara's death, but she couldn't. When she was left alone with her thoughts, her mind often backtracked to the previous years when she and Tara had been happily together. But before she was able to get too far into her thoughts, Kennedy walked into the room.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously. Willow jumped when she heard the Potential's voice; she had neither seen nor heard the girl come in. She tried to smile and Kennedy but failed miserably and sighed.
"I was meditating," she replied. "Need to keep those dark magicks away, you know?" Kennedy nodded.
"And you were thinking about her," Kennedy said, gestured to a photo on Willow's night-stand. It was a picture of Tara and Willow, with Miss Kitty Fantastico stretched out in Tara's lap. Willow could have easily lied to the young woman; could have said she wasn't. She had lied to the Scoobies, saying she didn't miss Tara too badly anymore. But she didn't lie to Kennedy. Instead, she looked down.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Kennedy said. She honestly didn't care much about Tara. All she knew was that Tara was Willow's girlfriend and so-called soulmate, whose life had been cut short by a stray bullet. She didn't understand why Willow couldn't just get over it; there were plenty of other girls in the world who could love her. But in order to try and get Willow to appreciate her, Kennedy needed to be supportive.
They were saved from any more awkward conversation by Giles, who was calling from the living room for Willow to take a look at something he'd found. Glad to be out of a conversation about Tara, Willow gave Kennedy an apologetic look and darted down the stairs. Even if she really did want to finally be able to talk to someone about missing Tara, now wasn't the right time.
"What's up?" she asked Giles. The two of them were standing in the living room, near the fireplace. Giles pointed to a strange looking talisman on the fireplace mantle.
"Did you, by chance, put that there?" she asked, referring to the talisman. He looked and sounded worried. Willow shook her head.
"Nope. I don't keep charms anymore. Potential lead to the dark veiny me." she semi-joked. "What is it?" she picked the talisman up to get a better look at it.
"Willow! don't-" a bright light surrounded the witch. "...touch...that..." Giles sighed, before removing and cleaning his glasses. He looked down at a suddenly miniature Willow expectantly. "I tried to warn you," he said, shaking his head. "That's why I didn't pick it up to show you. When handled by anyone but it's owner, it turns him or her into a child. The reason for this type of security is unknown, but it has been in use for hundreds of years." Willow glared up at him.
"And you couldn't have warned me earlier?" she whined in her little three-year-old voice. "You do know that this is so your fault for not telling me. Now someone is going to have to take care of me because I can barely reach the sink to wash my hands. And," she looked down, "I need clothes. see these? They're beyond too big. I can't move in these pants." She removed said pants, allowing her shirt to cover herself, and she could finally move.
Giles smiled. "Still your old self, eh? Well if I were you, I'd sit back and relax. This cannot be reversed until we find the matching talisman; a second talisman that is identical to this one. There are many in the world like this, but only one exact. It may take a while to find it." he told her.
"Xander" Willow called. she didn't feel like running around to find him, because she'd probably get trampled by a potential who didn't see her. She stood there with her hands on her hips until Xander came running in.
"Will?You sounded really funny just now. Actually I'm beginning to think that it's not you, but you know. What wrong, is-" Xander looked at his friend, who had her arms crossed and was glaring up at him.
"Giles forgot to warn me about something, and I did exactly what he was about to warn me not to do, and now I've shrunk. But I'm still me, see? I'm like, me, in the body of my three-year-old self." she stated.
"Merciful Zeus!" Xander cried. Within seconds, the rest of the Scoobies and the Potentials had come to see what his issue was.
"Xander! We heard you scream and then they decided that you're dying so we need to come rescue you, and..." Buffy stopped her babble as she, too, saw Willow. "Don't tell me that's Willow..." When both Xander and Willow nodded mutely, and Giles tried to smile, Kennedy demanded an explanation as to why she was a little girl.
As Willow explained about the "do not touch" talisman, as she called it, Anya exclaimed that she'd seen one just like it on the internet and would check it out, so long as someone else paid for it. As the ex-demon got to work, the others debated what to do with the red haired cutie. They all had to admit (even Spike, who had been following Buffy around) that Willow was a positively adorable little girl.
"she seriously needs clothing," Dawn offered. "I can take her out shopping, if you're all too busy...?"
"I'm short, not stupid!" Willow cried. "I can shop for myself! really I can..." Everyone stared at her in silence, and Chao Ahn rushed in.
"I knew someone was missing..." Buffy mumbled. Chao Ahn began babbling wildly in Cantonese, waving her arms, very obviously concerned about something. Perhaps she saw the flash card monsters? Giles helpfully translated.
"She's very excited to have a little girl in the house, as it reminds her of home. She loves children and thinks Willow is adorable." He smiled kindly at the Asian Potential, who just stared at him. Then she ran off, returning seconds later with a little blonde girl in her arms. The girl did not appear to enjoy being carried, and slid out of the Potential's arms. She was wearing only a shirt, courtesy of Chao Ahn's limited wardrobe.
Everybody looked at the small girl. Small she was; she was smaller than Willow, though they appeared to be the same age. The Scoobies were trying to find out who she was, asking her questions and trying to pick her up. She ignored them all, which left them baffled. Willow knew who the small girl was though, and ran to hug her.
"You're here! you came back! But...why did you come back? and, and why are you like me?" She babbled.
"You know each other?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Willow, you have strange friends." There was a silence as the ironic comment set in. Letting go of the blonde girl, Willow smiled and looked like she'd been fed sugar all day. Spike picked up "Willow's Friend", and looked her in the eye. He smiled slightly as she gave him a serious look that he'd only seen one person give him in his entire unlife.
"Welcome back, Glinda." he whispered.
Yes it was very predictable, but that's life for ya. I'v got more written up, but first I want to see if anyone likes it. I'm not posting anything that people don't want. so review, if you like it. It gets less boring, I swear.
